The Tale Of The Dream Master
by Ghostwriter
Summary: A shy girl and the school rebel are in for the fight of their lives.
1. Prologue: The Midnight Society

THE TALE OF THE DREAM MASTER

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television and Nickelodeon. I'm gonna try to make it like an actual ep, which means that that reviews will be treated like breaks in the story and interactions between the Midnight Society. So, if you wanna puzzle things out, go for it. Just don't be surprised to have an actual comment that sounds like I'm interacting with you. Semi-inspired by the _Nightmare On Elm Street_ franchise and I use a couple of names from the series, but with my own tweak to them.

PROLOGUE: THE MIDNIGHT SOCIETY

_Oh, hi. You're just in time. I have the fire all warm and toasty. Yeah, yeah, I know: redundant. Deal with it. My tale tonight has to do with dreams. What are dreams anyway? Are they some sort of mystery? Do they open one's mind to another world? Or are they just simply a way to release all of our confusion from a long day? For years, people have pondered these questions, and have even made movies regarding them. Well, __**my**__ story is about a girl who __**loves**__ to dream and the idea of being able to control her dream. This is also the tale of a boy who knows more about dreams and their dangers than anyone could ever suspect. And what they both don't know is that both of lives are about to be intertwined in a way neither of them ever imagined. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story…The Tale Of The_ _Dream Master. _


	2. Chapter 1: Strange Dream

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television Nickelodeon. Semi-inspired by the NOES franchise. Dreams are bold/italics. Any thoughts in dreams will be underlined.

A girl walked up to her locker and started fiddling with the lock. _Alice Johnson was a quiet girl, who mostly kept to herself. She was smart, studios, and didn't really care what people thought about her._ A boy walked up and came up beside her.

"Here. I got it," he told her.

"Thanks," Alice said in surprise. _Joey Crusel was the school rebel and loner. He didn't really get along with anybody, but for some reason,_ _he had taken a shine to Alice, who, along with the other students, didn't understand_ _why._ The locker opened and Alice gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing her books.

"How long has this been stickin'?" Joey questioned.

"A couple of weeks now, but it's okay. I mean, it's not a big deal," Alice answered.

"I'll get it taken of it," Joey promised.

"Joey, it's no--" Alice began to say.

"It **is** a big deal. It's causing you problems," Joey interrupted. _Yeah, they got along okay, but what they didn't know was_ _that they would both soon be depending on each other to survive. _ Joey walked away and Alice headed to her first class.

"Wow. The nerd's nearly late. Someone alert the media," a cheerleader smirked.

"Why? Were you early for once?" Alice shot back. The class laughed in surprise.

"Burn," a boy stated.

"Good one, Alice," another boy said. The girl just took her seat as the teacher, Ms. Miller, walked in.

"Okay class, settle down," Ms. Miller told them. Then, she began her lecture. In another classroom, Joey drummed his fingers on his desk in boredom. _Man, could this guy get any duller?_ he wondered. He shifted in his seat, and tried to focus on the teacher's words. Back in her own classroom, Alice was also trying to stay awake, something she usually didn't have any trouble with, but for some reason, that day she did. Her eyes drooped and moments later, her head hit her desk. _**She looked around. She was in some sort of meadow.**_

_**"Where am I?" she questioned.**_

_**"Come play with me," she heard a voice say. She turned around, and to her surprise, there was a little girl about eight years old wearing an old**_ _**fashioned white dress with red bows in her hair. **__**I wonder where she came from**__**, Alice thought.**_

_**"Hello. Where did you come from, Sweetie?" Alice questioned.**_

_**"Come play with me," the girl repeated.**_

_**"What do you want to play?" Alice questioned. The girl frowned in concentration.**_

_**"How about jump rope?" she suggested.**_ _**Alice concentrated for a moment, and then, to her surprise, a white jump rope appeared in her hands.**_

_**"You can control your dreams?" the little girl asked.**_

_**"I've often tried, but it doesn't always work," Alice confessed. Then, "How did you know this was a dream?" **_ _**The girl just giggled. "Let's just play," she said. Alice stared. Something didn't feel right. The girl looked up at her.**_

_**"Aren't you going to play with me?" she questioned, stepping closer. Her eyes looked up at the teen mournfully, yet held a glint that was unnerving. Alice backed away. **__**Get out, get out, get out!**__** She coached herself, hoping it would work.**_

"_**Play with me. Please? Please play with me?" the girl begged. She grabbed Alice's hand and began to squeeze it tightly, all the while, begging her to play.**_ Alice gasped as she awoke.

"Ms. Johnson, are you all right?" Ms. Miller questioned. Alice nodded, but was surprised when her hand began to throb. Her eyes widened. In the middle of her palm were two distinct imprints of a little girl's fingers.


	3. Chapter 2: Joey's Nightmare

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Horrorhappy12: Glad you think so. Thanks.

DISCLAIMER

Are You Afraid Of The Dark? belongs to Canadian Television and Nickelodeon. Semi-inspired by Nightmare On Elm Street which belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I only own the characters and plot.

Alice didn't get a chance to wonder about the fingerprints in her palm until after school was let out. After putting her books away, she stared at the marks.

"What in the world?" she asked.

"Is something wrong?" a voice questioned. With a gasp, she turned around.

"Joey, you scared me," she scolded.

"Sorry," he apologized. "So, is there something wrong?" he continued.

"No. There's nothing wrong," she told him.

"You sure?" he checked.

"Positive," he told her. _Alice wasn't sure what her dream had been about and it was only one of a few attempts she had made at lucid dreaming, so she wasn't sure if it meant anything or not. Joey had feeling that she wasn't being honest with him, but he didn't want to force her to tell him. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Unfortunately, he didn't know how right he was._ When he got home, Joey went to his room and blew out a breath. _Man, what's up with Alice? She looked seriously spooked_, he thought to himself. With another sigh, he pulled his books out of his back pack, picked one, and started reading the chapter. Hours later, he felt his eyelids drooping. He jerked his head up and resumed studying. Slowly, but surely, he nodded off. _**Joey looked around at his surroundings, which appeared to be an old factory. What was this place? He didn't recognize it. There was a high pitched giggle.**_

_**"Hello?" he questioned. There was another giggle. **_ _**"Is someone there?" he asked.**_

_**"Come play with me," he heard someone say. His eyes darkened.**_

_**"Come out and show yourself, you little witch!" he shouted. A sudden gust of wind knocked him to the ground.**_

_**"That's not nice," a voice pouted. He watched as an eight-year old girl wearing an old fashioned white dress and red bows in her hair appeared. "Come play with me, Joey," she urged.**_

_**"No," Joey answered. "No, I won't play with you," he continued.**_

_**"But I need someone to play with. Why won't you play with me?" the girl wondered, gazing at him with sad eyes.**_

_**"No one will play with you ever again. I'll see to that," Joey snarled, climbing to his feet. He rushed towards her and with a wave of her hand; she threw him into a wall. He groaned.**_

_**"Your friend Alice seems nice. I'll bet **__**she'll**__** play with me," she smirked.**_

_**"You witch. You stay away from her," he spat out. **_

_**"Aw…does the rebel really care?" the girl mocked. Another wave of her hand caused him to spread out on the wall, eagle-style.**_

_**"Play with me. All you have to do is play with me," she said.**_

_**"No," Joey answered, struggling against the invisible bond. She giggled again and Joey grunted. Why wasn't this working? Then, it hit him. **__**Duh, Joey! Use your head!**__** he chided himself.**_ _**His brows furrowed in concentration and he fell to the floor.**_

_**"Ohhh.**_ _**Someone fell down," the girl mocked. He stood up and lunged at her again. **_ _**At the last minute, she disappeared, causing him to hit the floor. She giggled and then started singing an old children's rhyme. Joey covered his ears. He knew he couldn't listen. He had to stay strong.**_

_**"Play with me," he heard the girl say, the sound muffled by his hands over his ears.**_

_**"Joey?" he heard another voice ask. He uncovered his ears. "Joey?" the voice called again.**_

_**"Tracey?" he asked. **_

_**"Joey?" the girl called a third time. She screamed.**_

_**"TRACEY!" he jumped to his feet and followed the sound. Suddenly, the floor tilted and the boy found himself falling through the air.**_

_**"NOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ Joey bolted straight up, panting and looking around wide eyed. With a sense of foreboding, he turned to his wall and his face paled. Written in blood red letters were the words: **COME PLAY WITH ME, JOEY**.


	4. Chapter 3: Kidnapped

DISCLAIMER

Semi-inspired by Nightmare On Elm Street. Belongs to Canadian Television and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot.

_After his nightmare, Joey just couldn't go back to sleep. Not after seeing the little girl…a figure he knew all too well. _ Joey tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get comfortable. But no matter what he did, he just couldn't get back to sleep. With a sigh, he sat up. He didn't know what to do. He glanced at the wall, where the little girl's demand stood out brightly. He glanced at his door. He couldn't believe his parents hadn't heard him scream. Then again, they **were** deep sleepers. He drummed his fingers on the bed. Then, he lay back down. There was nothing more he could do. He closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, hoping it would lull him to sleep. The next thing he knew, his alarm was going off.

"Aw, man. I just fell asleep," he complained. At least…that's what it felt like. With a sigh, he turned off his alarm, got up, and got dressed. Then, he went downstairs, where his parents were waiting.

"Good morning, Joey. How'd you sleep?" his mother questioned.

"Not very good. I had a horrible dream," Joey answered.

"I'm sorry to hear that, son," his father stated.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna jet," Joey stated, heading for the door.

"Aren't you going to have some breakfast?" his mother questioned.

"No thanks. I'm not very hungry," he replied, walking out the door. He got into his car, put the key in the ignition, and turned it. Once the car was sufficiently warmed up, he headed for school. When he got to the establishment, he ignored the other early comers and headed straight for the boys' restroom.

"This can't be happening! That thing is gone! I beat it!" he snapped fiercely. "I beat it," he whispered. He rolled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal scars crisscrossing up and down his arm. The door opened and Joey quickly rolled his sleeve back down. He shouldn't have bothered. The boys just ignored him and went about their business. Joey quickly ran out the restroom. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now. Minutes later, he bell rang and he hurried to his class, not noticing when Alice showed up. During the school day, Joey kept his mind focused on his work, resulting in some raised eyebrows. However, Joey ignored the stares and just concentrated on staying awake. Meanwhile, Alice was attempting to do the same as Joey, only she wasn't having much luck. As her math teacher droned on, she felt her eyes drooping and she nodded off. _**Alice looked around. Where was she? From a**_ _**distance, she could hear someone humming.**_ _**Confused, she followed the sound. **_ _**As she got closer, she became aware that it was in the tune of an old nursery rhyme. **_

_**"Hello?" she asked nervously. There was no answer but the humming. **__**This is really weird**_, _**she thought. The humming grew louder as she continued to walk down the hall.**_

_**Ring around the rosies**_

_**A pocket full of posies**_

_**Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!**_

_**Alice looked around in confusion. What was going on? What kind of a dream was this? Suddenly, the little girl materialized in front of her. Alice gasped.**_

_**"You scared me," she scolded.**_

_**"I knew you'd come play with me," she grinned. Then, before Alice knew what was happening,**_ _**she was thrown down what appeared to be a long shaft.**_ _**Once she reached the bottom, she immediately found herself in a large cage. **_ _**She gasped and started banging on the bars. Thundering footsteps were heard and the girl froze.**_ _**The footsteps continued until out of the shadows came a creature with a black body with claws for fingernails and glowing red eyes. Alice backed away from the front of the cage as the creature approached.**_

_**"Come play with me," it said in a terrible voice. **_


	5. Chapter 4: Show Down

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Horrorhappy12: Thanks. Here you go.

PhinalPhantasy: Glad you think so.

DISCLAIMER

Semi-inspired by Nightmare On Elm Street which belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. Belongs to Nickelodeon and Canadian Television, I only own the plot. After this, the only stories I submit will be complete due to school.

Joey leaned back and forced himself to pay attention to the history teacher. All of a sudden, he gave a jerk. _**Come play with me**_, he suddenly heard a voice snarl.

"Oh, no," he whispered.

"Joey?" the teacher asked, noticing the boy's sudden rigidness.

"I--I gotta check on Alice," Joey stuttered, and then jumped up, and ran out of the room.

"Well, that was new," a boy commented.

"For real. I've never seen him scared like that," a girl agreed. Joey hurried to Alice's math class and burst in to find various students surrounding the girl who had fallen to the floor.

"Alice? Alice?" he asked, pushing through the crowd and kneeling next to her. There was no answer. "Alice? Come on, wake up!" he encouraged, shaking her shoulder. Again, there was no response.

"I'll get the nurse," a boy said, and then ran off to do just that. _Come on, Alice. Please wake up. Don't it take you_, Joey pleaded silently. The rebel continued to plead with his shy friend to wake up, ignoring the surprised stares from the rest of their classmates. The nurse came in, and perused the body.

"Get an ambulance. Her vitals are fine, but it's like she's in a deep sleep that she can't get out of," the nurse announced. The teacher went to do so as Joey snuck out. Minutes later, the ambulance came, took Alice away, and arrived at the hospital, where Joey used a hall phone to call Alice's parents.

"Mr. Johnson? My name's Joey Crusel, I'm a friend of Alice's. She fainted in class and was taken to Steven Mercy Hospital," Joey announced. Then, he hung up before the man could ask any questions. Then, he sat in the waiting room chair until her parents showed up. When they did, he secretly backed out of the hall. He didn't need anyone noticing or stopping him. He snuck into an empty room.

"Okay, you wanna play? We'll play," he promised as he made himself comfortable on the bed. He closed his eyes. _**Almost immediately, Joey found himself in a warehouse**__._

_**"Come on out, you freak!" he called. The floor rumbled and he fell to the ground.**_

_**"That's not very nice," a small voice pouted again.**_

_**"You can't fool me with your little girl act. Show your true self!"**_ _**Joey demanded.**_

_**"Fine," the thing agreed, stepping out into the open.**_

_**"Where's Alice?" Joe questioned.**_

_**"You're too late. Just like with your sister, Tracey," the creature mocked. With a cry of rage, Joey flipped through the air kicked the thing, which grunted as it fell.**_

_**"Someone's been practicing," it noted.**_

_**"I told you: no one will ever play with you again," Joey responded, assuming a defensive stance.**_

_**"Come on, Joey. Why bother with a girl you hardly know?" the creature continued, standing once more. Instead of answering, he just lunged at it again. However, this time, it waved a hand and he was thrown against a wall. In her cage, Alice heard the sounds of fighting.**_

_**"Joey?" she questioned. "Joey, help me!" she shouted, banging on the bars. The sounds of fighting continued and then suddenly, she saw Joey running towards her. **__**Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please**__**, she thought. Her eyes widened when the creature jumped on Joey.**_

_**"NOOOOO!" she screamed. Joey kicked the thing away, scrambled to his feet, and then flipped through the air. **__**What is he doing? Does--does he know how to take control of his dreams?**__** Alice wondered. Finally, he was at the cage, where he began struggling with the bars.**_

_**"Will you teach me how to do all that?" Alice requested.**_

_**"I'm rather hoping you never have to learn," Joey answered, as he fiddled with the bars. Alice's eyes widened.**_

_**"JOEY, LOOK OUT!" she shrieked. Joey quickly turned to see the creature advanced.**_

_**"GET BACK!" he warned her. With a scream, she did as she was told as he jumped out of the way. The creature slammed against the cage, causing Alice's trap to rattle.**_

_**"This ends now," Joey declared.**_

_**"It's too late. You're going to join your sister," the creature taunted. Then, it leaped on top of Joey!**_

_**"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Alice screamed again as the boy struggled under the monster's weight. She ran to the bars and tugged on them. She had to get to Joey! She couldn't let him die! To her surprise, the bars came off and then jumped the thing, hitting the back of its head with a fist. It roared in surprise and rolled off of Joey, who moved his head slightly and telekinetically threw the creature into the cage and put the bars back into place, stepping closer to the cage. **_

_**"I told you it was over," he commented grimly, touching the cage. The creature roared as its prison melted into cement.**_

_**"Good job, Joey," a voice said. Surprised, the two turned around to see a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than them.**_

_**"Tracey," Joey said softly.**_

_**"You've grown," Tracey commented. "I knew you wouldn't let me down," she continued.**_

_**"I'm so sorry. I should've believed you the first time," he apologized.**_

_**"It's okay. I can move on now. You did that for me," she assured him. They hugged. "You can wake up now," she told him. **_Joey gasped.

"Alice," he said, and then hurried towards her room.__Alice's eyes fluttered open.

"Joey?" she asked.

"It's Mom and Dad, honey," her mother corrected.

"Joey! I have to check on Joey!" she exclaimed, trying to climb out of the bed.

"Don't worry. I'm okay," a voice assured. Everyone turned around to see the boy. He walked up to the bed, knelt down, and clasped her hand in his own.

"No one will ever play with that thing again," he promised. She gave him a grateful smile, her face voicing her thanks.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The turning the cage into melted cement came from the scene in the X-Men episode "A Rogue's Tale", which belongs to Fox and Marvel's Comics.


	6. Epilogue: Back With The Midnight Society

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television and Nickelodeon.

_The next day, Joey and Alice went back to school, surprising everyone with their overnight changes. Alice was less shy, and started making more friends while Joey toned down his bad boy tendencies and let himself trust once again, no longer wracked with guilt over Tracey's death. And they still explored the dream world, making sure that the creature wouldn't come back, which it never did, as well as making up their own adventures while they slept. So, who knows? Maybe you **can** take control of your dreams. Maybe you can do whatever you want in them. Or maybe it's like I said, dreams are just your mind's way of sifting through the day's events and nothing more. Any rate, it's fun theorize about. And now, I declare this meeting of the Midnight Society closed. Until next time…pleasant dreams._


End file.
